I lied.
I was HORRIFIED because I like to think of myself as an honest person. But the lie just plopped out of my mouth before I could even think.
While ordering lunch from a Thai food truck near my office in Ginza, I told the vendor that I’d just got back from Bangkok – that was true.
“How long were you there?” she asked.
“Oh, just one night” – that was true.
“Ah, for work?”
“Er, yes” – not true!!!
Admittedly, I did a tiny bit of work by the pool, but I didn’t go to Thailand for work..
Flustered, I grabbed my gapao rice and scurried back to the office, wondering, “What happened there? Why did I lie?”
I realized that I felt embarrassed to admit that I was taking time off…
It sounded so extravagant and self-indulgent to fly to Bangkok for just one day for fun!
This was five years ago. I’d started to experiment with the idea of doing less, but better…
And it was extremely uncomfortable because I was self-conscious about what other people thought – even the lady in the truck, who I didn’t really know!
Around that time, I’d read and reread the amazing book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown (エッセンシャル思考 最少の時間で成果を最大にする).
The author writes,
“What if we stopped celebrating being busy as a measurement of importance? What if instead we celebrated how much time we had spent listening, pondering, meditating, and enjoying time with the most important people in our lives?”
And
“I have a vision of people everywhere having the courage to live a life true to themselves instead of the life others expect of them.”
Well, I hope Greg will now consider me one of those people in his vision.
I’ve changed the story I tell myself from “I need to work hard to be successful and for people to like me.”
Now it’s “By doing less and prioritizing my physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, I’m more creative and energized to do brilliant work and make my best contribution in the world.”
What’s my contribution? Helping others, especially professional women in Japan and beyond, to discover how they too can enjoy less effort and more impact in their work and lives.
What are you prioritizing?